1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a manufacturing line for a semiconductor device, and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
A semiconductor device is manufactured by subjecting a semiconductor wafer (a workpiece) to a cleaning treatment, a thermal treatment, a deposition treatment, an etching treatment, an ion implantation treatment and the like through the use of various semiconductor manufacturing installations (treatment devices) that are arranged on a manufacturing line. These treatment devices are aligned on the manufacturing line in such a manner as to correspond to the sequence of processes for the semiconductor device. It should be noted herein that since the same treatment (e.g., a cleaning treatment in forming an oxide film, a cleaning treatment in forming an electrode, or the like) is repeatedly performed in the process of manufacturing the semiconductor device, a plurality of the same treatment devices are arranged on the same manufacturing line. For example, the process for manufacturing the semiconductor device may consist of about 200 processes. The manufacturing line is long when there are many processes as in this case.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-104683 (JP 2012-104683 A) discloses an art of manufacturing a semiconductor device by arranging treatment devices on a loop-like conveyance route and causing a workpiece to orbit along this loop-like conveyance route. With the manufacturing line disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-104683 (JP 2012-104683 A), the same treatment device that is provided on the manufacturing line can be used in the same treatment in different processes. That is, the treatment devices that are arranged on the manufacturing line can be shared by different processes, so the length of the manufacturing line can be shortened.
As described in the background art, according to the art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-104683 (JP 2012-104683 A), the semiconductor device is manufactured by arranging the treatment devices on the loop-like conveyance route and causing the workpiece to orbit along this loop-like conveyance route. In consequence, the treatment devices that are arranged on the manufacturing line can be shared by different processes, so the length of the manufacturing line can be shortened.
However, with the manufacturing line disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-104683 (JP 2012-104683 A), the treatment devices are not aligned in such a manner as to correspond to the sequence of the processes for the semiconductor device, so the treatment device that performs the treatment of the subsequent process is spaced apart from the treatment device that performs the treatment of the current process in some cases. In these cases, while the workpiece is conveyed to the treatment device that performs the treatment of the subsequent process, the workpiece passes in front of the unused treatment devices, so there is a possibility of the conveyance distance of the workpiece being lengthened. For example, when the treatment device that performs the treatment of the subsequent process is adjacent to the other side in the conveyance direction of the workpiece, the workpiece needs to be conveyed by about one turn along the manufacturing line, in order to convey the workpiece to the treatment device that performs the treatment of the subsequent process.